Now that the summer is dwindling down, it is time to focus on school safety again for your children. It is estimated that 2.2 million children under the age of 14 suffer injuries in school-related accidents every year, according to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. While you cannot prevent all accidents from occurring, there are still some things you can do to contribute to the safety and wellbeing of your children.
Below is a list of some helpful back-to-school safety tips for your children:
- If your children walk to school, plan out a route with them. The route they take should be the most direct path that involves the fewest possible street crossings. If there are street crossings, choose the path that has crossing guards.
- To ensure the walking route to the bus stop or school is the safest possible option, walk with your child once beforehand. During your walk, explain the importance of staying away from parks, fields, empty lots, and other areas that appear deserted.
- Make sure your children understand that they should never speak to people whom they do not know or accept gifts or rides from strangers. If your children are particularly young, explain to them that a stranger is anyone whom they do not know well or trust.
- Your children should not walk to and from school alone. If they go to the same school, they can walk together, or they can walk with a friend or trusted neighbor.
- Make sure your children understand that they must always obey all traffic signals, regardless if they are riding a bike or walking to school or to the bus stop. If weather conditions are poor, tell them to be extra careful and to take their time to avoid having an accident.
- If you are driving your children to school, drop them off and pick them up as close to the campus as possible and never leave until they are in the schoolyard or building.
- Lots of children bike to school, so if yours do, get them a helmet that meets the proper safety standards and that it is always worn. Helmets reduce the risk of a traumatic brain injury by up to 85%, so this is a critical safety measure.
- Your children should always be early at the bus stop and stay out of the street while they wait for it to arrive. Remind them to watch for cars and to avoid being in the blind spot of the driver.
- Tell your children never to bend down in front of the school bus to tie their shoes or to pick something up. The bus driver might not see them and begin moving the bus.
- Your children should always know their own phone number, address, your work number, the number of a trusted adult, and know how to dial 911 for emergencies.
Personal Injury Attorney in Jackson
If your child suffered an injury that was caused by another party’s negligent actions, you need to hire a skilled personal injury attorney as soon as possible to ensure you obtain fair and just compensation. At Richard Schwartz & Associates Injury Lawyer, P.A., our team of personal injury attorneys have over 40 years of experience in representing the wrongfully injured and their families, which we will use to your advantage.
